Notes on the data: Aged care places

Residential aged care - high-level care places, 30 June 2011

Policy context: Residential aged care places are funded by the Australian Government to assist with the cost of care and accommodation services for eligible people who can no longer live at home because of the effects of ageing, illness or disability.

Notes: High-level care is nursing home care provided when health deteriorates to such a degree that a person becomes very frail or ill and can no longer be cared for adequately in their present accommodation. It provides 24-hour nursing and personal care for the very frail or ill, with support for the activities of daily living - dining, showering, continence management, rehabilitation, medications etc. Allocation is based on availability and the assessment of an individual's needs, as compared with other residents.

This data includes: Multi-Purpose Services; National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Aged Care Program; and Consumer Directed Care. Refer to the Aged Care Service List for further information.

The data excludes the Transition Care Program (TCP), which provides short-term support and active management for older people after a hospital stay in either a residential or community aged care setting.

Note: The data show a number of areas as having rates that are very high: these are areas with relatively high proportions of Indigenous population. As ageing and disability affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people earlier than they do non-Indigenous Australians, planning for services is based on the number of people aged 50 years and over, instead of 70 years and over as used for the rest of the population.

Numerator: Residential aged care - high-level care places

Denominator: Population aged 70 years and over

Detail of analysis: Rate per 1,000 population aged 70 years and over

Source: Compiled by PHIDU based on data from the Department of Health and Ageing, 30 June 2011; and ABS Estimated Resident Population, 30 June 2011.